TechSpring redefining the future of health care in region and beyond

Posted Mar 12, 2018

TechSpring offers professional co-working space in its headquarters in the MassLive building at 1350 Main St., Springfield. TechSpring's 50-plus renters - known as members - include a number of businesses, entrepreneurs, developers, consultants, remote workers, health care professionals and investors. (TECHSPRING PHOTO)

SPRINGFIELD - In the not-too-distant future, the delivery of quality health care could be as easy as reading a patient's palm.

But the palm reader won't be tucked away in a carnival booth. Instead, the future of health care innovations will most likely come from TechSpring Health Technology Center, a digital nerve center backed by the resources of the $2.5 billion Baystate Health Systems.

Currently, TechSpring is collaborating with private health care IT security company imprivata -- headquartered in the eastern part of the state -- to bring palm vein scanning technology used for positive identification of patients to the medical marketplace.

TechSpring's Managing Director Christian Lagier and his staff are already redefining the future of health care from the center's 5th floor perch in the MassLive Building at 1350 Main St., as they help entrepreneurs bring products to market. The name "TechSpring" is based on "technology" and "Springfield, Lagier said. "We chose this name as it is descriptive and honors Springfield's past and future," he said.

If two patients have the same name, for example, or if someone winds up in the emergency room unconscious and without a wallet, the palm vein scanner would read the unique vein pattern of a patient's palm providing positive identification, Lagier said.

Beyond avoiding potential medical mistakes, Lagier said the big advantage of palm-scanning technology is that it would save time for both physicians and patients.

"The patient can be registered once," he said, saving time for both doctors and patients - and ultimately improving the quality of physician-patient interactions.

When patients show up for appointments, they won't have to take the time to fill out the lengthy and repetitive forms that they do now, he said.

One innovation that has emerged from TechSpring's collaboration between health care technology innovators and the Baystate Health system includes a mobile app that allows doctors to easily update medical records.

Another app allows obstetricians and maternity nurses to keep better tabs on women with high-risk pregnancies and to offer them feedback as their due dates approach.

"The idea is to have technology fade into the background while the doctor and patient interact." Lagier said.

Founded by Baystate Health in 2014,TechSpring's "core activity is to break down barriers" between private health care technology firms and the regional health care system to create a broader collaboration, Lagier said.

The beauty of the center's model is that it allows companies and entrepreneurs to tap into the vast resources of Baystate Health Systems with its 12,000 employees serving 1 million patients in Western Massachusetts, he said.

Baystate Health owns Baystate Medical Center and four community hospitals in Westfield, Ware, Greenfield and Palmer as well as insurer Health New England.

TechSpring's staff can link innovators with Baystate Health, including its doctors, hospitals and medical practices, providing the innovators a real-world testing ground.

A Silicon Valley transplant, Lagier, who grew up in Copenhagen and later worked in Paris, said Western Massachusetts is uniquely positioned for success with its mix of urban, suburban and rural communities, ethnic diversity and a range of income levels from low to high and middle class.

Besides its role as an innovation center, "TechSpring is also a professional working space - a co-working space -- that functions as a hub for all things technology and health care in the region, including projects and events," Lagier said.

"This is something that is available to anyone who works remotely in either health care or technology," Lagier said. "We want to form an innovation community."

TechSpring's 50-plus renters - known as members -- include a number of businesses, entrepreneurs, developers, consultants, remote workers, health care professionals and investors," he said.

Lagier said TechSpring's number one priority is to help its members achieve personal productivity and achieve success in their work.

"But we also all share a drive to make a difference for our region and for health care," he said.

Membership is $300 a month and includes full office services for companies, including a kitchen area. Lagier said the center gives discounts for start-ups and students.

The light-filled place overlooking historic Court Square was designed by Lagier to incorporate modern office amenities with a nod to the past.

All of the conference rooms are available to members and easily booked online or on an iPad mounted at the door of each conference room.

In an effort to share the knowledge and promote discussion and brainstorming among health care innovators and providers, TechSpring holds monthly events called Tap Into TechSpring. The gatherings feature hot topics and guest speakers.

The events are held on the second Thursday of every month and the discussions are done "over food, beer and good cheer," Lagier said.

The next Tap into TechSpring will be held on Thursday Feb, 8 when Lagier will sit down for a fireside conversation with Adam Zerda, senior manager of innovation for BD/Carefusion, a $12 billion healthcare technology company and major vendor to Baystate Health.

Lagier believes Springfield has the potential to be a national innovator in the health care field.